Science of Medicines Workshops

We are pleased to offer teachers free workshops that align to the content taught in Year 10 Science and Unit 4 of VCE Chemistry. Each workshop relates directly to the areas where our faculty excels, including pharmacy, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery biology and formulation science.

This workshop introduces students to medicinal chemistry and the use of organic compounds in drug design. Functional groups are discussed and students are given odorant compounds as a way of interacting with molecules containing specific groups. Groups discussed include hydroxyl, aldehydes, esters and ketones. The importance of drug polarity versus activity is explained using common medications and illicit drugs as examples. The presentation includes molecular modelling videos detailing the bonding interactions between drug and receptor sites.

The workshop can also be coupled with an instrumental LCMS / NMR demonstration in a 2 hour comprehensive excursion. Schools are welcome to bring several samples for analysis on the spectrometers. Please contact via the below email address for more information.

This presentation and hands on activity touches on several of our faculty themes, including medication design, the emergence of superbugs and the use of micro plastics in cosmetic products. Students learn about the relationship between structure and activity using their olfactory system and are quizzed on surface contamination, in relation to bacterial counts on common household surfaces. The aim of this workshop is to show students how their science knowledge can lead to careers in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science in a 'light-hearted' and informal manner.

The workshop can also be coupled with a campus tour if held at our Parkville campus.

Registration

All enquiries regarding workshops and bookings can be directed to pharmacy.outreach@monash.edu. Please provide the following information when requesting a booking:

School name

Year level/s

No of classes per year level

Proposed dates and time/s

Number of students

Travel distance from Parkville campus in minutes

Please feel free to request a workshop if you are in a regional area. We will endeavour to accommodate if possible.